Stewards of Creation - Confessing our failure
Genesis 1:26-31
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27 So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Humanity was made in God’s image and according to God’s likeness. This is not a statement of looking like God, rather it is a statement of having tasks and responsibilities in which we are to participate with God in what God is doing. God the creator, gives to human beings the task of participating in caring for creation.
Words like “subdue” and “have dominion” sound like human beings are being commanded to use the creation for whatever purposes we believe best, with little regard to the damage our plans may cause. Such an understanding is to misunderstand what God is saying, God is saying that God is giving responsibility for the creation to human beings. We are to live as the caretakers, the stewards, the gardeners of the creation. We are to act for the good of the creation: nurturing it, caring for it, defending it.
God looked at the creation, and “it was very good.” Sadly, human beings have acted in ways that have harmed the creation, marring it, destroying its beauty. Our destruction of the creation has put us at odds with the creation. Listen to the ways we speak about the weather, when it does not co-operate with our plans. Listen to the ways in which we live in fear of nature, believing it will harm us. Instead of being in harmony with creation as would befit people seeking to be stewards of creation, we live in enmity with creation.
We need to confess the ways in which we have failed to live out our calling – confessing the sins of humanity as a whole, and our own sins. And having repented, seek to live into our proper role of being stewards of the creation.
PRAYER:
Lord God, we have failed to be faithful stewards of your creation. We as human beings and as individuals have destroyed the beauty you created, we have taken for ourselves what should have been shared, we have taken more than we needed, and we have marred what you made. We have been irresponsible and greedy. We are sorry, forgive us and change us we pray. Amen.